ReStart
by Garota Nerd
Summary: A fix-it fic in which Loki survives, Valkyrie decides to act, the Avengers are working things out, Thor is lost, the Guardians are saving the universe again. *SPOILERS FOR INFINITY WAR* *ALL RIGHTS AND CHARACTERS BELONG TO MARVEL* *This story is mainly Loki centered. Also this is my first fic, be gentle with the comments and I appreciate any advice and ideas.
1. Prologue

The Statement is falling apart, Valkyrie and the sakaarians are helping the half alive Asgardians and survivors into the last escape pod, the people in the pod are mainly elders, women and children. All pods were filled with more people than they are capable of and 5 out of the twenty pods were not exactly usable, with a bit of luck and if the Norns wanted, they would reach Midgard, not the closest realm to Asgard but it was the King's orders. Valkyrie, herself will go on the Commodore with Korg and Miek.

At that moment the whole ship shakes, the alarms go off every where, the ship was really going to collapse. She sends the pod into space along with the rest and turns towards the big pile of rocks.

"Korg, did we get everyone here?"

"Everyone has been taken care of, Scrapper 142. Will we wait for any one else?"He asked, no he pleaded.

"No, our orders are to evacuate and lead the people away, so we are gonna do just that." Val knew he meant Thor, Loki, Hulk and Heimdall, and she had to fight the urge to go help them. If Thor hadn't begged of her to make an oath to protect and lead the Asgardians, Val wouldn't think twice and she definitely would fight.

She couldn't let herself process that after they defeated Hela and survived Ragnarok, she was about to lose her friends and dare she say family, she met the idiots a few months ago and couldn't help but be fond of them. And she would never admit that she felt helpless, because she knew there was nothing she could do against Thanos. Asgard needs her, the last Valkyrie, and she would be there to lead them.

* * *

" I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail nonetheless. It's frightening, turns the legs to jelly. I ask you to what end? Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. And now it's here... or should I say, I am." _So dramatic. Could he hurry up?_ Loki couldn't stop thinking if he had sounded like that in New York. Loki had his own share for the dramatics but he hoped that he never sounded like Thanos.

" You talk too much." Thor has a small and painful smile on his face. _The oaf practically has his life on Thanos hands and he can't shut up for once in his life._ But Thanos ignores him.

"The Tesseract or, your brother's head. I assume you have a preference." Thanos holds his brother's head with the hand that wears the Gauntlet as he directs his question at the Trickster. Loki can feel Proxima Midnight shift her weapon closer to him, a reminder that his life means nothing to them.

"Oh, I do. Kill away." Centuries of lying or should he say acting, makes it believable, Thanos looked mildly surprised by the surety of the statement but didn't hesitate to use the power stone to pressure Thor's head, his screams fill the room and impregnate Loki's brain, he can't bear to see his brother suffer any longer, to be the cause of his brother's death. _Screw the universe, I don't owe it any favors_."Alright stop!"

"We don't have the Tesseract. It was destroyed on Asgard." His Brother's rough voice resonates through the ship. _Brother, I'm so sorry._

Loki extends his arm, the Tesseract in hand as an offering.

"You really are the worst, brother." _I am. Ain't I? But know it, Brother. What I did and do is for you._

" I assure you brother, the sun will shine on us again." The Trickster's voice, usually void of emotion, sounds desperate and almost pleading. _Thor, I never make promises, they are not just words for me. Don't take it lightly, please._

"Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian." Thanos has an smug look on his face as he reaches for the space stone.

"Well for one thing, I'm not Asgardian. For another, we have a Hulk." _This sounds much better then 'I have an army'._ Hulk comes with full force towards Thanos, Loki tackles Thor out of the way and heal the worst of his injuries, especially his head, he does everything without addressing Thor a single word.

Loki leaves to send a distress signal to whoever happened to be close by, he got a small break thanks to the Hulk (maybe the green rage monster could smash the angry grape) and at least a half of the people escaped but in such conditions only half would live anyways...

The dark Prince claimed to be the cleverest person there is, but he came back to the ship, something that maybe he shouldn't have and this mess was his fault, he just brought more problems to Thor and Asgard... _'Wherever you go there is war, ruin...Death' Odin was right, doesn't matter where I go Chaos follows._ Loki senses something, it's powerful and very unlikely, dark energy. _Is that the bifrost? Selfpity can wait, it's time for action._

He walks carefully behind a pile of twisted metal, in time to see the second to last death of half of an already decimated people. _I won't let Thor be the last, I won't let him die._ Heimdall's death strikes him as odd, he was not that fond of the gatekeeper as the rest of Asgard nowdays, especially after the treason, but he considered him a friend once, even the father he never had, as a child he would curiously ask about all the worlds within and outside the Nine Realms to the Gatekeeper, those were one of his happiest memories, and was surprised to find he still had such feelings for the man. He can't see or hear the Hulk anywhere; _Could they have killed the beast?_ To the side he can see his Brother, body wrapped in metal and his mouth gagged with it as well, it looked like his muzzle from not so long ago. _This was definitely Ebony Maw, this happened too fast and it is far too neat for anyone else have done it._

Loki didn't have much time now, he had to save Thor by sacrificing himself, that's how they worked after all, with one saving the other, cleaning up their messes, even before Thor's coronation their adventures finished with saving each other's skin. _Old habits die hard, I suppose._

Thanos always worked by taking half, he just had to get his attention, be bold, act a bit desperate and show a bit of confidence, which he doesn't have right now, and then fake his death just like Svartalheim, they would all fall for it. He just hoped that he had enough energy for the spell, when he was stabbed by the Kursed it worked perfectly, the spell should keep him between life and death, therefore he is neither dead or alive and it is far too easy for everything to go wrong. He decides to pay attention to what they are saying.

"My humble personage bows before your grandeur. No other being has ever the might, nay the nobility, to wield not one but two Infinity Stones." Thanos takes the cube that was the cause of wars and despair as if a fragile being and crushes it. "The universe, lies within your grasp." _What is that scrawny fish talking about?! I had the space and mind stones at the same time before the titan could even think about snapping his fingers, well kind of before he was able to do it anyway._ The wave of power that comes from the stone filling its spot on the Gauntlet is unmeasureable, and before Loki knew it the conversation was over.

"Father we will not fail you." Promised Proxima Midnight . _Aren't you all such devoted children? Well, it's show time._ Loki leaves his hiding place and faces the Mad Titan and his Black Order. He acts as nonchantly as possible to further annoy Thanos, the plan will only succeed if the Titan thinks he is dead. "If I might interject. If you're going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that area." He spread his arms wide and promising as if the ordeal on the Earth was a success.

"Well, if you consider failure experience." Thanos scoffs.

" I consider **experience** experience." Loki counters. He takes each step with more purpose than the one before.

"O mighty Thanos. I, Loki. Prince of Asgard ...Odinson..." Loki looks towards his Brother. _Thor, this pledge is for you Brother. I would never say it to anyone else._ As he turns his look away from Thor, he materializes a dagger, hidden from his enemy, but there, so that his Brother can see. "The rightful king of Jotunheim. God of mischief, do hereby pledge to you my undying fidelity." With the final word Loki sprints the dagger towards the titan's head.

Thanos uses the space stone to stop the dagger, that the trickster so audaciously tried to kill him with. "Undying? You should choose your words more carefully."

Thanos' hand wraps around Loki's neck and slowly chokes life out of him, his eyes are bloodshot and bruises are visible even with the Gauntlet around his neck. The God of Mischief struggles and fights the Titan's grasp, he can hear his Brother's muffled and quiet screams as he feels the hand tightening on his neck, ready for the final blow. _Time for the spell, please work!_ "You...will neever be...a god." Loki is able to choke out.

And Thor breaks, the screams that leaves his mouth and the filled hate that clouds his face that was caused by his death will haunt Loki forever, he hates himself for ever doubting his brother love.

"No resurrections this time." Thanos throws Loki's body towards Thor. The God of Thunder can't do anything but watch his Brother lifeless body as his own muffled cries echoes across space. _I'm sorry Thor._ The reformed Prince sees the scene unfold and the guilt that forms for deceiving his brother once more is unbearable, but he tried to warn him this time. He observes his body in the paused state, without life but not falling towards death either, and feels his mind and seidr floating like a ghost, he might as well be one, since nobody can see or sense him.

Thanos and his children leave, and the Statement explodes sending the brothers to opposite ends of space.

* * *

 **Notes:** The parts of the text which are on italics are Loki's thoughts, they may be a bit confusing to get it at first but I decided that's what will make Loki Loki on this fic, after all he's also the God of Chaos, and therefore his mind, feelings and thoughts are all over the place, I bet he is really good at multi tasking.I will try to take his personality to another level than the one we know from the MCU.

The quote from Odin is from Thor:The Dark World, when he is sentencing Loki to prison.


	2. Floating

Loki watches as a ship pulls his Brother inside and can't help the sigh of relief that leaves him, well it doesn't really leave him 'cause he is in space but, oh well, now he only needs to save himself, if Thanos hadn't exploded the ship he could've healed his body and be with Thor right now but no, the genocidal eggplant had to leave with a dramatic exit. ' _Complaining is not going to help, you must use your head, my son.' Mother... I wish you were somehow here again..._ Frigga's soft voice fills Loki's head with longing and sorrow but it doesn't distract him of his task of healing his body's broken spine and crushed neck. Loki is one of the best sorcerers there is, probably the most powerful in the universe, but in the past few years have been difficult, leading an invasion to Midgard. _I don't wanna remember what came before._ healing an impaled wound from a Kursed's sword, dethroning the All-Father and masquerading as him for almost four years _That's probably the highlight of my life_ , then fighting the Goddess of Death and destroying Asgard. So healing such wounds without the proper tools would be hard even for Eir, Goddess of Healing-Not to mention how stressed he was. He would have to break spells he did in the past, most were already broken since his wards on Asgard were destroyed anyways. The Trickster only hoped he could get all the important things like his spine and vocal cords fixed, he could leave the bruises for later.

* * *

First a purple wave of power pass through them, and then the excruciating heat that shouldn't exist in space. Valkyrie's doubts about leaving came to the forefront off her mind and she didn't waste any more time, her friends needed her. After all, she can't take care of hundreds of people if she can't even keep her friends safe. Knowing those idiots, they probably exploded the ship. _Is the royal family solution to everything exploding them?_ And that's when the giant doughnut passed through and left them behind. Yeah, Valkyrie is definitely coming back to save their asses. Hulk wouldn't need saving after all she taught him everything she knew, the big guy had a lot of brute strength but when they met he didn't know how to use it, now he could probably beat everyone in Asgard and practically anywhere. He is her first friend in centuries, she would probably do anything for him, that's likely one of the reasons she helped, I mean yeah she wanted revenge _Thank you Lackey, for reminding me_ , Thor is charismatic and has a puppy face that is hard to say no to, not impossible just hard. And then there is Hulk, he was happy when his friend from work was with him, not happy like when he is 'smashing happy' but genuinely happy and she thought 'That brightness on his eyes are worth it'.

"Korg, I am dropping you and Miek on one of the pods with the rest of the Asgardians, you are in charge, keep the people safe and take them to Midgard. This part of the galaxy doesn't have Ravagers so all you have to do is get to Midgard as fast as possible." Val had a no nonsense look, which was to say how much she trusted Korg with this.

"But Scrapper 142, where are you going?!" It might be hard to imagine a rock with a panicked look but that is the face Korg is making right now, and it isn't pretty.

"I am going to save some idiots."

* * *

Bodies and destruction everywhere. This was so much like the time the Valkyrior were slaughtered by Hela, that she could barely even look. Could you imagine what would happen if Thanos and Hela ever met?! More than half of the universe would be gone that is if someone survived.

The Valkyrie couldn't afford to let her feelings out though, she would need a couple bottles for that, yeah she's gonna get them and nope she can't, she needs to be her at her best, she needs to be sober, she needs to be composed and fall back into her role as one of the Valkyrior, her friends lives were on her hands just like that time, she would not live them behind, not this time, not again... and that's when, on the verge of a breakdown, she saw a weird glowing green light in the middle of it all, it wasn't constant, almost like a flash, hardly noticeable, she thought she was hallucinating for a while, but then it was like it was glaring at her, like a 'can you hurry up?' look or 'can't you see I am calling you'. So she couldn't be imagining things that badly. Well, it's worth a look and if distract her out of her thoughts then why not?

* * *

That thing over there, that's the 'Commodore', he is sure. There is no other ship in the galaxy, if it could be called a ship, so outrageous and flashy at the same time, only the Grandmaster would have wanted something like this. The Grandmaster is completely insane, that is the only thing of consistency about that man. Now if whoever is on that stupid ship could hurry up and give him some air, that would be amazing. His body could bear only so much time in space and his spell was making him feel weaker by the second.

He is tired, he felt like falling asleep right then and there, not to mention he is totally wasted, and even though it's true he felt worse before. _'You will long for something sweet as pain' , yeah way worse._ He never had the will to live as he had now, before he had and didn't have a disregard for his own life, and then he actually acted on it and let go... But right now Thor and him were on neutral ground, at least the trickster hoped so, after bringing Thanos to the ship and the faking his death stunt. _Well, not really faking since my body felt the pain but not my mind..._ They were brothers again, and had been working together, things had been fine even though their home was gone Asgard still lived on, so he wouldn't fake his death only to die after it, he had a duty to his people, to his brother and ... _Now I'm sounding like Thor, Why did I start ranting about this anyway? I hate responsibility... Where is the god damn ship?_

The space ship was approaching rather slowly almost as if taunting him and he is about to blackout, he felt dizzy and outta place, no oxygen reaching his lungs and head, and even though his vision was getting blurry and black around the edges, he could make out a woman inside, with a blue cape? Valkyrie, he realized. _Oh joy, stuck with the most insufferable, short-tempered, beautiful ... Yeah, this is going to be just peachy._ Maybe passing out wouldn't be so bad if the God of Mischief wanted to avoid being alone with his childhood hero.

* * *

After dragging Lackey into the ship, figuring out he was alive, and ranting about not finding Hulk nor Thor, Valkyrie decided to keep her path to Midgard, and when she finally allowed herself a drink, the bluish Lackey decided to wake up, and wasn't that a funny sight , he was confused at first about where he was, and when he finally figured out he started panicking after one look at his blue hands. Now that she thought about it that wasn't the 'I was dead' kind of blue but rather 'that's my skin' kind of blue, interesting so the second prince of Asgard is jottun. Val snorted as she thought that Odin really outdid himself this time if Lackey tensed just looking at his hands which were now extremely pale. At that note he looked at her and his face was a mask of no emotions, standing up rather shakely but still elegantly, taking a regal position with ease, probably out of practice, the trickster looked like nothing bothered him, if you ignore the huge purple bruise that is. And he strode to the ship's controls as if he owned the place. _Royalty, they are insufferable._

"Hey, what the hel you think you are doing?" The warrior questioned, She did more out of frustration over the situation than true annoyance at him.

"I am warning our allies throughout the entirety of the nine realms about Asgards destruction and Thanos plans for the universe and asking their help at keeping the Mad Titan's armies out of Midgard." His voice was strained and scratchy, pained and filled with no emotion, Val was pretty sure he shouldn't be talking and said so as she forced the prince to take a seat and looked for water and a bit of food for the raggard looking prince. He didn't oppose much for her out of character actions which worried quite more than his injuries did, but as he passed out and the ship went full speed (or as fast as the Grandmaster´s piece of trash could go) towards Midgard, she couldn't do much.

* * *

The God of Mischief, one of the most powerful sorcerer on the universe was going to pass out no denying it and he was humiliated. Embarrassed since he was being smothered by one but the Valkyrie -Who insisted on him drinking water and eating a few rations that she found, his seidr felt better already-which was to say how weak he was on her eyes and he could barely protest but at least his message was sent, hopefully Sif would get it. Now he had to go to Midgard and fight, get his seidr at top shape and … maybe not in that order…

 **Notes:** I am really not sure about this chapter, I want Valkyrie to be really involved in this story so I decided this chapter would be mostly her. I am sorry for not updating this chapter sooner but you see I rewrote-it many times and in the I was like 'So be it'. Hope you guys enjoy it and as you can see it will be rather slow going. In the end Loki is blacking out if that wasn't clear. I would appreciate if you guys point out my grammar, well thank you!


	3. The King of Absolutely Nothing

**The King of Absolutely Nothing**

He never felt so alone or lost, with no hope or that natural way of his to look at a dire situation and point out the bright side, and inspire others to not give up. It is only an opinion but I believe everybody reaches a low point and the result may be for the best or the worst, the thin line between giving up and drowning on our sorrows or to stand up, honor the people who already left us and the ones who are still here, fight in our own way, with different strengths, sometimes different battles but in the end we have that same core with the desire to find **why** should I keep going when I feel so alone and helpless, to find **who** am I supposed to be now. _Everyone fails at who they're supposed to be, Thor. The measure of a person, of a hero is how well they succeed at being who they are._ Funny how his Mother's words that she often repeated come to him now and when she died he couldn't remember much, it was probably grief and numbness, back then so much was happening, Jane was still around and the Warriors Three, Heimdall, Father... and Loki… nothing makes much sense now. And all he wanted at that moment was the bastard dead.

The most feared assassin in the universe observed the god before her, he was broken that much was obvious or at least he was pretty close to breaking, he barely touched the food that she gave him and she could feel he was powerful, since he woke up the air in the ship changed … smelled like ozone she thought. And then he went from depressed to vengeful and desperate in a second, the changed was abrupt, _whatever he was thinking about was probably upsetting,_ but she never really dropped her guard in front of strangers even though they looked amazing. She decided it was about time to give explanations the guy said it was Thanos who destroyed his ship, she might as well tell him what the Mad Titan is after.

"The entire time I knew Thanos, he only ever had one goal: To bring balance to the Universe by wiping out half of all life. He used to kill people planet by planet, massacre by massacre...". She started quiet but determined at first but in the end her melancholic tone won out.

"Including my own." Drax pointed out. The tension was escalating quickly as was the uncomfortable static in the room.

"If he gets all six Infinity Stones, he can do it with the snap of his fingers." Gamora wasn't one for the dramatics but she snaps her fingers as she repeats the philosophy she heard her whole life."Like this."

"You seem to know a great deal about Thanos." Thor was trying hard to stay neutral but he spent two years of his life trying to find anything about the Infinity Stones and the part they would have to play in the universe, and every time he came close to information, the person he was supposed to meet ran away, vanished, was murdered or worse they killed themselves. _And, of course, when it's too late the universe decides to give him all the pieces of the puzzle._

"Gamora… is the daughter of Thanos." Everybody is quiet for a few seconds as Drax blunt statement reaches Thor's ears.

"Your father killed my brother." Thor can't take it anymore, he knew there was something about her, they way she talked with understanding and a forced detachment that was not normal. And he wanted to make the titan suffer maybe by taking his daughter…

"Oh, boy. Stepfather, she hates him as much as you do." The one with the red jacket claims and Thor accepts his argument as he thinks of Loki and how often in the past few years he would deny his parentage to either Laufey or Odin. _In the end he chose you_ He thought as an image of his Father came to mind, the voice in his head was starting to sound like his Father, he decided not to think too much about it but he was sure it wasn't a good sign.

"Families can be though." He says as he claps on Gamora's shoulder. "My sister was banished to Hel... then she returned home, and stabbed me in the eye, so… I had to kill her. It's life, I guess. Goes round and round and… I feel your pain."

After that brief discussion the God of Thunder was distracted and clearly overwhelmed as he talked about a hammer, argued with Quill _How pathetic that he tries to deepens his voice_ and invited rabbit to go with him to Nidavellir. The morons as he started to refer to them as in his head were good people but a bit slow, especially when he was really clear on how desperate the situation was. By the time he finally took their pod he was frantic and clearly upset. They are trying his patience now, why is it so hard to people see logic? Thanos is going to Knowhere, he needs to be stopped and they need a weapon clearly they need to split up.

"Thor… Why would he go to Knowhere?" Gamora is impatient as well, the man changes topics as fast as a tornado, making it hard to understand his madness.

"Because for years, the Reality Stone has been safely stored, there with a man we call the Collector." His voice is strained and tense, it was clear the god wanted to leave now.

"If it's with the Collector, then it's not safe. Only an idiot would give that man a stone." Quill didn't mention how he tried to do the same thing once and for money of all things, Gamora lifted an unimpressed eyebrow and surprisingly Drax decided not to bring it up.

Thor did not waste a second and answered without hesitation. "Or a genius." His voice was warm and found, as Gamora observed how quickly his demeanor changed, back and forth.

The King of what remains of Asgard did not wait anymore, he grabbed the first bag he found and filled with everything that looked important and necessary, rations, communicators, anything really. The rabbit seemed to be talking but he mostly ignored it as he boarded the pod and gave them his final words.

"I bid you farewell and good luck, morons. Bye." And with that, the next part of his journey began. The Guardians nod and wave their goodbyes as Thor, Rocket and Groot depart to the extensions of outer space.

They had been on the pod for a few hours now and the tension around the god with the eye patch was thick, Rocket was rather impatient by now, Groot with all his teenage angst was too much sometimes and brooding pirate angel was supposed to be an entertaining addition after all his talk about Nidavellir and calling him captain he thought the guy was going to be fun to have around. But without Quill to rally him up, he soon realized that the emotions coming from the man, dark and depressing, seemed to be his default mode.

The racoon tried to ignore it but it was impossible, the man's emotions came out of him with strength with every little sigh or motion, it was actually really weird since Rocket never was aware of other people feelings like this, but then again he never met a god before. So maybe it was completely normal that the room was cold, a bit humid and smelling like ozone, but then again he wouldn't know.

"I am groot!" Ugh, seriously the boy could be so rude sometimes and with no shame either. After all, he was the one who raised him. _I mean there was some help from Gamora and Quill was like the second dad, but he was the one who was there before any of them_

But surprisingly he was not the one who answered. "You can pour what's in the cup out in space then go in the cup again." The god-man was talking again and he understood Groot like, what?!

"You speak Groot?" Really, Groot was not a dead language but it was so complicated to understand that they _whoever they were_ gave up on trying to add it to the translators, it took him a while until he understood it fully but it was worth it, never had he had a friendship like the one he had with Groot and the relationship with the kid Groot was even deeper in some ways.

"Yes, they taught it on Asgard. It was an elective." Thor's thoughts, though, weren't really there as he answered, all he could think about was the brother who told him there was no point in learning a language that he would never use.

"I am groot."

"You'll know when we are close." Thor said but by the time he finished the sentence, Groot's head was fully into his game.

As he continues to drive through space, he couldn't shake of the feeling that he was dragging himself into something that he would not be able to handle. And diligently he whispered a pep talk to himself. "Okay. Time to be the captain." Then loud and clear he said. "So dead brother, huh? Yeah, that could be annoying."

"Well, he's been dead before. Now this time, I think it really might be true." The king spoke nonchalantly as if the subject was the weather, Rocket decided to not think too much about it and took it in stride.

" And you said your sister and your dad…" He didn't finished but he didn't have to.

"Both dead." Wow. _Was it just him or his voice seemed colder? But not the sad kind, more like the I don't mind they are dead kind. Well, he did mention the sister tried to kill him..._

"But still got a mom, though?"

"Killed by a Dark Elf." This time his voice sounded numb.

"A best friend?" Rocket was clutching at straws now.

"Stabbed through the heart." There was some silence after that.

"You sure you're up to this particular mono mission?"

"Absolutely! The rage and vengeance, anger, loss, regret, they're all tremendous motivators. They really clear the mind, so I'm good to go." Thor said with no hesitation.

"Yeah, but this is Thanos we're talking about, he's the toughest there is." The guy is insane, there is no other explanation. After everything he heard Rocket was not even surprised.

" Well, he's never fought me."

"Yeah, he has." He was just pitying the guy now.

"He's never fought me twice. I'm getting a new hammer, don't forget."

"Well, it better be some hammer." He new it sounded like he was mocking the man but he had no patience anymore. The guy clearly had no regards for his life, and after his talk it was even clearer that his motivation was revenge. So when he heard the man-god talking again he decided not fight him and just move on.

"You know, I'm fifteen hundred years old. I've killed twice as many enemies as that, and every one of them would've rather killed me, but none succeeded. I'm only alive because fate wants me alive. Thanos is just the latest in a long line of bastards, and he will be the latest to feel my vengeance. Fate wills it so." _Well, that was surprisingly deep_

"Mm-hmm. And what if you're wrong?" _What other crazy idea can this guy pull out of his hat?_

"Well, if I'm wrong, then what more could I lose?" His answer sounded bleak, and as the racoon looked back he saw the lone tear that was falling on the right side of the god's face spoke a story, one that was painful and not easily forgotten like in the fairytales Quill used to tell Groot as a bedtime story. But Rocket didn't want to show how affected he was by that answer, even though it was obvious.

"Well I could lose a lot. Me personally, I could lose a lot." Without losing a beat he decided to change the conversation a bit, it was getting too personal for his taste.

"Well, if fate does want you to kill that crapsack, you're going to need more than one stupid eyeball." Rocket says as he tosses an eyeball towards the God of Thunder.

"What's this?" _Seriously, is his eyesight that bad?_

"What's it look like? Some jerk lost a bet with me in Contraxia."

"He gave you his eye?" Though he was a bit surprised, inwardly Thor was chuckling as he remembered with fondness when his brother won a bet and his adversaries thought they could ran away without paying the God of Mischief. Needless to say, the men didn't lose their eyes but blood was spilled and never again were the families welcomed in the court when Loki made public, multiple of their crimes against Asgard. _Who would have thought they were stealing so much from Father and right under his nose and now that I think about that was probably Loki's reason of approaching those guards to begin with_

"No, he gave me a hundred credits. I snuck into his room later that night and stole his eye." _Aye, this one reminds me of Loki. He would have amused brother a lot_

"Thank you, sweet rabbit." As Thor puts the eyeball into his empty socket Rocket grimaces.

"Ooh. I would've washed that. The only way I could sneak it off Contraxia was on my…" Just then a beep goes off, and Thor could not be more grateful of not knowing something. Whatever the rabbit was going to sat he knew it would not be pleasant.

"Hey, we're here."


	4. Allies and Planning

Everything felt far away as if he was under a blanket and all the sounds, images were blurry like when you are underwater but it was only a minute, one beautiful minute of peacefulness. Then the information came rushing in, all the panic, the pain, the regret, and a single thought was his priority: make sure Thor is okay. Not that he could or had the ability to search for his Brother's aura, which he had already lost a few light years away, it was infuriating. Well, he was awake he might as well do something useful. Let's see, he was with Valkyrie on a ship that was going towards Midgard… and they can't go there, there is another stone that he has to deal with, the only stone Odin All-Father refused to obtain according to his Mother's journals, the reason … he doesn't know but the infamous God of Mischief has tricks and knowledge that the one he once called Father did not have.

"Valkyrie, we can't go to Midgard."He said as he walked to the hanger only to come across Val talking to Sif.

"Hey there Lackey. I was wondering about you." Her legs were up on top of the controls, a bottle in her left hand. No one would ever suspect that this woman, essentially a drunk, had once been General Brunnhilde of the Valkyries, of the strongest unit of Asgard, who trained under Valka and fought alongside Frigga, the Seidrmaster. The keyword being once. "The girl you sent the message to, she answered but she had a few questions, I filled her in on Ragnarok and Thanos' attack, you do the rest while I get another bottle."

As he looked at Sif's face on screen he saw the look that became default mode among the Asgardians, pain and loss but hers had a hint of revenge. But once she looked at Loki she was astonished. Loki's face looked sickly, his eyes were bloodshot and his veins visible, but the bruise on his neck was big, black and purple looking, it literally screamed pain but she did not let that cloud her thoughts, she would not pity the snake prince.

"Loki, I thought you were dead. But it makes sense now why Odin sent me to Vaneimheim or should I say you sent me here." The anger in her voice was not lost on him but he decided to go straight to business. " When I get my hands on you, you will beg for mercy,and at the end of my sword your blo …"

"Sif, Goddess of War. I , Prince Loki gave thee a task." His voice was serious but rough and weak, no hint of mockery or otherwise. " Asgard has fallen, Its' army is dead, its' people scattered and helpless, our best warriors... Heimdall, Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun have fought bravely but the Halls of Valhalla have claimed them... I give thee the responsibility to protect Midgard, for Thanos still seeks more power by bringing together the Infinity Stones, there shalt thou meet with the mortals and King Thor... The balance of the universe can only be kept if we fight together. For almost four years I worked on a plan... sending thee throughout the Nine Realms as our messenger, to strengthen our alliances… Sif of Asgard if thee have done thine task well, thou shalt have no difficulty in bringing them together and fight off Thanos' forces... the Black Order." He spoke quietly but steady, never be said that Loki Silvertongue let the Titan steal his voice.

It was easy to see that Sif was in shock, definitely not pleased but at the same time it was clear that she understood how important this is. One of the only qualities he could appreciate, and the difference between her and the Idiots Three, she knew when to pick a fight.

"I accept the task given to me by the throne of Asgard, and I shall honor thine request." There was still anger in her voice but the grief was coming through now. Well, people didn't call him silvertongue for nothing, reaching to one's feelings is part of being a good public speaker.

"Wow! Who knew you had it in you? Huh Lackey? You sounded just like Odin." Val decided to show up at that exact moment and if ever asked Loki would say that he didn't blush, that it was out of anger at the compliment/insult _Is she really impressed and couldn't help but insult him as well or is she just being sarcastic?_ but Sif would gladly say that the Dark Prince, known for his atrocities around the Nine Realms blushed like a schoolgirl.

Loki quickly composed himself, and was completely professional afterwards. "Now that formalities are out of the way... Sif, there are six main targets if you disregard Thanos. The Black Order is composed of four of Thanos' "children"; Ebony Maw, known as 'black tongue' because of his abilities of manipulation, and being capable of controlling the strongest of minds…. he also uses technology that allows him to teleport and create force fields, he is the brains of the operation if you take him out, they will have no strategy; Proxima Midnight... she is a master combatant, with incredible durability but what you really have to watch out for is her spear... the weapon sends of poisonous energy that feeds off the victims' life force and it never misses its target…. Corvus Glaive, rumors say that he is immortal but that is not true... his glaive is what gives him the fake immortality if you can take it away from him you can finish him off…."Then, Loki coughed badly he was straining his voice too much. When he opened his eyes again there was blood on his hand and a cup of water, which Loki took with a single nod towards the Valkyrie. "Black Dwarf or Cull Obsidian, his skin is impenetrable, he has strength that can rival the Hulk's, but he has no real thoughts of his own... he is muscle and that is all there is to him, if you can trick him he is done for…. Last two are Gamora and Nebula, known to be Thanos' favorites but some say that they have both defected, I don't know if it is true, so be prepared for anything, they aren't the universes top assassins for nothing...

" They will more than likely be leading an army of Chitauris or Outriders... in both cases you must destroy the mothership, theirs is a hive like species… Like ants ants when their queen is dead they can't function properly, the only difference being that Outriders don't fall instantly as the Chitauri... they keep going for a hour or so. All of the information I gave you is crucial… and as must as it pains me to say so, I trust you Sif, I know you will not fail… I know you will be able to give the Midgardians the means in how they must prepare." As he finished his speech, Loki allowed Sif something she never thought she would get from him. On the Prince's eyes it was possible to see grief, pain, loss, determination, frustration but what surprised her most was the trust and the sincerity, something few knew him capable of.

It had been years, no probably centuries Loki was this open with the female warrior or anyone, they were never friends but once the trickster managed to keep his face blank of the emotions he did not want anyone to see, she decided it was not worth her effort and now she regretted, she would not take his words at face value but the Goddess of War knew better than to point it out either that he was being sincere.

"Loki you gotta give me more than that. What happened to your... your …?" Sif tried to ignore it before, it was impossible now with the thin trail of blood going down his neck, the gory sight would stick in her memories. Though she did not finish her question her look always fell on his neck and the trickster quickly knew what she was asking.

"The Mad Titan tried to choke the life out of me... but he does not comprehends the powers of the gods... he did won against the Hulk though, poor guy tell him it's alright, that he tried his best. And you will be happy to know Thor was rescued by another ship... and from what I could gather they seemed like good guys, it was a Xandarian design." The Nova Force was probably dead, if the power stone was truly there, but he decided Sif didn't need to worry more. _Wow, am I being considerate of other people feelings? I really need to sleep some more_

Sif them breathed a sigh of relief, but she did not know what to say except to keep on and ignore it, but Loki seemed sincere enough… _ugh What am I saying? Just keep going Sif_

"Loki, this means nothing. All this is only a truce once the universe is not hanging by a thread anymore I will make sure you are hanged and dead this time."She spoke with annoyance but her voice was soft and her eyes glittering as she turned her head to the Valkyrie. "It was a pleasure to meet you Valkyrie, it gives Asgard hope to have a warrior of your caliber among us once more… ."As Sif turned off the call her inner fangirl came through and if ever asked she would deny it, but the God of Stories would more than embellish the slight blush and starry eyes towards the esteemed warrior with pleasure. " Goodbye Loki." Beep.

"So, you said something about us not going to Midgard." The Warrior sounded calm, but her body language spoke a different story.

"Precisely."The God of Mischief was distracted as he changed coordinates plans towards the Galaxy of Vormir, the place was full of dead planets. And he had his back towards the woman, therefore he did not expect the aggressive behaviour that her temper brought forth.

"And you decide to mention this now, we barely have any fuel to get to Midgard and you want to go outside of the Nine Realms tree! Are you insane?! We are going to die in the middle of space if we do that!" By this point she had the Prince pushed into the wall and her sword under his neck while he had his hands up into a surrendering position. As much pain he felt in his neck he couldn't but enjoy rallying the warrior up.

"And you would be correct if we were not taking a shortcut through Sakaar... And regarding if I am insane, I would say it's a pretty solid possibility." Though the Prince enjoyed their brief closeness, a job had to be done and feeding the warrior's temper _As fun as it was_ should be done at a later time.

"Are you stupid? We go back there and the Grandmaster will never let us go." She could not believe that she was stuck with the supposedly smart brother, not if his ideas were all like this, but if she compares to Thor's idea that the only way to save the people was by destroying their planet, then it was pretty mild.

"He will let us go if we tell him that we are still looking for the Hulk and Thor... If we play our cards right we can tell him we know where they are but we need better equipment but if that doesn't work we tell him about Thanos... and if that doesn't work we tell him his brother died at the hands of Thanos... that should get him serious enough to drop all his games for at least until we leave that place. "

Loki seemed different that was for sure, he was acting like the old Loki, the one she didn't like much or respected but he was still her Prince so she would obey him, but at the same time there are was an air maturity around him that wasn't there before, much like Thor. Both of them had grown and she felt as if she was left behind by them. Before the Warriors Three, it used to be just the three of them, then they were joined by Fandral. And years later Hogun who came from Vanaheim and Volstagg whom was already an esteemed warrior of the court, he fought alongside Tyr, her father and Odin All-Father in the war against Jotunheim. And when the truth about the second prince parentage came to light neither were surprised, Tyr had a look of satisfaction on his face, now she understood why her father always blamed Loki for everything that went wrong and would warn her to keep her guard around him, Volstagg though seemed resigned back then, as if he had failed. Sif longed for those simpler times when it was only the three of them, two princes and a warrior maiden.

Sif was in a Spaceship towards Midgard, only Asgard had the privilege use of the Bifrost, which no longer existed…. Vanaheim had gladly offered their help, after all their royal families were connected. Alongside her in the ship were Freya and Freyr, Princess and Prince of Vanaheim, Cousins of Thor and Loki of Asgard, niece and nephew to Odin All-Father and Frigga All-Mother. The young monarchs upon receiving the message from their previously dead cousin gladly accepted to give their help. It was in moments like this that Sif remembered that Loki was actually liked in Vanaheim but tolerated by his planet.

It was obvious, where they would land their ships, since a fleet of darker capsules were grouping together towards the north of Africa.

"Fleet number 364, initiate the force field between the enemies and the planet Terra."Freyr voice resonated through the intercoms, but apart from that silenced reigned. Sif's vision was completely taken as smaller ships fastly passed them and formed an incredible sight of magic and technology working together, allowing them safer passage through the warzone. It was already planned that fleet 364 would stay and destroy as much motherships as they could and whatever landed on the planet the foot soldiers would take care of it.

"Lady Sif… Lady Sif…" Finally the warrior realised the princess calling for her, she was a bit embarrassed but composed herself, even though the blush was rather obvious.

"I am sorry… My mind … was elsewhere."

"Do not apologize, your heart and mind have gone through much and it was not given time to heal."Princess Freya was much like Queen Frigga, they were related by blood after all, the Princess' father was the Queen's brother, but at the same time it was more than that, it was as if they could see through you and they would always say the right thing. With a small sad smile the Goddess of Love continued."My brother and I think it would be better if you talked with the Midgardians and warned them we are about to land."

"Of course, leave it to me."

The Avengers had landed in Wakanda just a few minutes earlier and were trying to plan a war against enemies they knew close to nothing about. The Princess was working diligently or the robot Vision with Bruce Banner by her side and Wanda Maximoff watched desperately, as the Captain described what he fought against in Poland to King T'Challa as beep sounds came through.

"Brother, the aliens are calling." Princess Shuri of Wakanda quickly looked at her screen and called after her brother, who was now listening attentively to the Black Widow's narration of the attack of New York.

"Shuri." Her Brother chided her and sighed. "Put them through." He ordered General Okoye, a bald warrior with an armour that looked primitive and modern, crossed her arms in front of her chest and followed her King's orders.

As the bigger screen came to life, everyone except Shuri and Wanda looked and were surprised to see someone almost normal, at least normal according to Earth's standards.

"Hello, I am Sif , Goddess of War, I came here with reinforcements from Vanaheim alongside Princess Freya and Prince Freyr, cousins of King Thor of Asgard we request a safe landing for our troops."

Natasha quickly recognised the woman from the 2011 recordings of Thor's first visit to Earth and Agent Hill briefly mentioned that she came to Earth soon after Thor's London incident to establish a more equal alliance. Before, anyone could protest Bruce came forward.

"Thor… Did you just say Thor? I thought he was dead. Is he with you?" Upon seeing the horrified look on Sif's face, Bruce backed away slightly embarrassed by his outburst.

"I have received information from … someone stating that King Thor is alive but I am now doubting his word. We can provide more information if you let us land though."It was clear that Sif was irritated now and upset but T'Challa decided that they had already proved enough that they were not the enemy for now. Though some still had their doubts.

"I am King T'Challa of Wakanda and you are welcome to land in my kingdom."

King T'Challa was walking his new guests towards a room next to the lab where they previously received the call from. And quickly enough they were joined by Steve, Natasha and Bruce, and of course the warriors of Wakanda. Princess Freya walked forward then, she was every bit a sorcerer and warrior, but she still held an air of a delicate maiden, those who assumed she was just a delicate maiden though, were deeply wrong.

"I am Princess Freya, Goddess of Love, of Vanaheim, one of the planets of what you Midgardians call Solar System. This is my twin brother, Prince Freyr, God of Peace and we …"At that moment she was interrupted by Captain America himself, who still wasn't convinced that the Gods were actually there to help.

"I am sorry ma'am but how is the Goddess of Love and the God of Peace supposed to help, better yet how do we know we can trust you. Thor never spoke of cousins."Steve considered himself close to Thor, and the God never mentioned any extended family, but assuming from Bruce's questioning gaze and Natasha blank stare he thought he was going in the right direction.

"My brother and I are also the Gods of War, but when introducing yourself it can come of as aggressive. Don't you think so, Steve Rogers, the man out of time?"Steve was stunned _How does she know my name?_ and felt rather foolish _What was it with Gods and monarchs that always managed to make them feel small?_

"All is fair in love and war, Captain. My sister and I represent the thin line between love and hate. But that is not why we are here." The Prince spoke quietly but with purpose. "As my sister was saying we received a call for help from our cousin, Prince Loki, to protect Midgard and information about the enemy to help us win this. Thor will meet us here according to my cousin."

"As if we can believe him…"Muttered Sif, she couldn't believe that she let herself fall for his honeyed words.

"And that is why we will analyze the recording again, to calm your worries, but I believe my cousin spoke the truth." Said Freya as she pulled out what looked like a rounded objected, which she quickly pressed and put it on the table, the hologram of the recording was high technology, better than Earth, you could see clearly but it felt different than the technology Bruce saw on the 'Statement', like something else was mixed within.

As the video started Bruce was horrified by what he saw, Loki's neck was bruised and his eyes were bloodshot, his usually smooth voice was rough and somewhat emotional. Everyone listened attentively as Loki gave Sif her task and he described the Black Orders abilities, from the corner of her eyes Natasha could see the twins looking at Loki's face sadly but their eyes had something in them and it wasn't tears, it was powerful and looking directly at it made her eyes hurt. The recording finished and Sif looked troubled but the first to speak was Freyr. "Sister, did you detect anything?"

"Nay, Loki always was a good liar but when he is serious there is no way to miss it, his eyes were filled with grief and it's possible to feel his pain even through the recording. Everything he said is truth."The princess sighed but it was clear she was deeply affected by the image of her cousin which was still frozen in the screen.

"I don't understand, the last time I saw Loki he was fighting Thanos and gave the Hulk an opening… I think… My memory is fuzzy but how did that happened?!" Bruce made gestures towards his neck but the monarchs from Vanaheim looked at Sif.

"I asked him and he said Thanos himself tried to choke the life out of him. But who are you? And why were you so recently with my King and… my Prince?" Sif could scream and shout but at the end of the day she knew that if Loki was speaking the truth she would be loyal to him until his word no longer benefitted Asgard. _I sounded just like an opportunist right now_

"I am Bruce… Bruce Banner."He stuttered a bit but he hoped these royals were like Thor and T'Challa. _What if in Vanaheim we are supposed to bow?_

"But you are also known as the Hulk."The lady did not give a chance for him to respond as she continued. "Loki said that you fought well against Thanos, you have no need to feel ashamed by your defeat."

Bruce felt a change inside of him and this time he felt no rage, only despair and shame.

Everyone panicked as the scientist skin turned green with the exception of the Goddess of Love. But they needn't have to be afraid, the Hulk did not seek to retaliate as he calmly went down on his knees.

"Puny God said Hulk fight good?"His voice was deep but everyone was amazed by the childish way he spoke. The Vanir siblings and the Asgardian smiled at how Hulk referred to Loki as Puny God and Sif came forward as well as she put her sword away.

"Aye, the Prince told me you did your best. I am glad you came now, we will need your strength to fight Thanos' children." The Hulk gave a crooked smile and soon enough he started to boast.

"Hulk is the best. Hulk defeat anyone."

The Avengers and company knew this was the calm before the storm, and it was confirmed when they saw one capsule land in the distance, outside of the dome and another that crashed on top of it. King T'Challa did not waste time, with all the information they had, they could have an actual chance at winning.

"Evacuate the city, engage all defences…" And as he pointed towards Steve no one could argue the authority that the man held. "And get this man a shield."

 **Notes:** If anything is out of context I appreciate if you point it out to me. I know Steve is kind of out of character and hopefully I will get him in the future chapters, I think Bruce and Natasha are better though.

At the beginning I wasn't going to add characters from mythology but then I saw an opportunity to make my own characters. If it wasn't clear Freya has the power of sight which allows her much like Frigga to see future possibilities but that doesn't mean it's certain, and both twins have Seidr.

As you probably noticed the story is going towards my own timeline now, somethings from cannon will still happen (the major events), but I created Valkyrie's and Loki's new adventure in Sakaar and I have different plans for other characters.

The force field with the spaceships was inspired by a Guardians of the Galaxy scene, where the ships get together.


End file.
